- Harold Rawlings, a member of the Liberty University board of trustees, was married to Sylvia Jane Rawlings on November 1, 1957, at Lockland Baptist Church.
- Sylvia Jane Rawlings died on January 20, 2026
- Harold Rawlings was newly married March 1, 20261
Sylvia was in the ground for one month and three days before her former husband married a new woman. This new marriage should, apparently, be an inspiration to Liberty students.
The details
How did I come to this conclusion? Here’s what I’ve got:
Harold Rawlings is on the board of trustees of Liberty University
This is confirmed by both the website and the words of President Costin. Here’s a screencap from convo:
When you search Harold Rawlings online, you find this website, haroldrawlings.com, with this picture on the homepage:
They’re the same person.
When you go to the website’s about page, you find several key pieces of information:
He holds degrees from Baptist Bible College, Bob Jones University, California Graduate School of Theology, and Louisiana Baptist University (Ph.D.).
He and his wife Sylvia have five children, all of whom are involved either in full time ministry or as active volunteers in their local churches.
In June, 1963, he became Associate Pastor of Landmark Baptist Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1984 he became Co-Pastor along with his father, Dr. John Rawlings, and then served as Senior Pastor from 1994 to 2001.
If you search the web for “Harold Rawlings wife,” this obituary comes up: Sylvia Jane Rawlings Obituary January 20, 2026 - Webster Funeral Home.
Here are several key points of information from the obituary:
Sylvia was born on September 26, 1936 in Otisco, New York. She inherited her Heavenly Home on January 20, 2026, at age 89.
She attended Bob Jones University and again graduated with honors in 1957. It was at Bob Jones that she met and fell in love with her future husband, William Harold Rawlings.
They were married on November 1, 1957, at Lockland Baptist Church (Later known as Landmark) in Lockland, Ohio. From that union five children were born: Jonathan, James, Catherine, Joseph, and Ruth. She also had 17 grandchildren and a host of great grandchildren.
Sylvia is survived by her husband, Harold, and younger sisters, Patty Currie and Yvonne Gilbert.
Dondi Costin explicitly announced that Harold Rawlings is newlywed on April 15, 2026
Over to the far left is Harold Rawlings. He’s 92 years old. He is a newlywed. He and his bride, who is right there. Please stand up. They got married on March the first, and so please, let’s thank them for the inspirational example.
What if there’s a second Harold?
Aside from the visual similarity, there is not a second Harold. This article shows us why: Liberty University remembers longtime supporter George Rawlings
George Rawlings, a Kentucky businessman, and entrepreneur passed away on March 16 at age 77. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Beverly Sue Rawlings; his three brothers, Herbert, Harold, and Carrol; and many nieces and nephews.
There are four Rawlings brothers, there are no repeated names.
The family’s ties to Liberty go back to the university’s early years. Their father, the late Dr. John Rawlings, was a longtime pastor who served as a key advisor to Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell in the establishment of the university.
The John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, housed in the Freedom Tower, is named in his honor. The Rawlings family helped plan many unique features in the building, including the scriptorium, which displays rare books and Bibles valued at over $1 million from the Rawlings’ personal collection. John Rawlings also served on Liberty’s Board of Trustees; Harold Rawlings is a current board member.
Liberty Campus Pastor Jonathan Falwell said his father and Herb Rawlings were roommates at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., in the early 1950s and that’s where the relationship with the family began.
This isn’t definitive, but recall that Harold also had a degree from Baptist Bible College.2
Footnotes
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https://www.youtube.com/live/zwGOMYACe6c?si=TxMvq_iqsX3GQU2H&t=1447 24:07 ↩
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And this is probably because their father was the president of the school
“Dr. John Rawlings was the president of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., where Jerry Falwell, Sr. attended college in the early 1950s.”
LU receives $5 million gift, names School of Divinity for longtime supporters | Liberty News ↩